Fading Fast
by Xoihana
Summary: CU. "Sesshomaru walked away, but he was unable to shake off their meeting. His emotionless mask stayed in place. Meaningless. That's what the meeting was." A seires about Sesshomaru, Kagome, and the romance that draws them together.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own diddly squat. I wish I did though, so I can be rich and live in Beverly hills right now. Enjoy please! Lots of reviews would be looovveellyy

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Meeting You

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He arrived at the village. Rin had already spotted him and came on fast with a toothy grin. Sesshomaru looked down at her.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" She exclaimed. "Look! Kagome-chan taught Rin how to make flowers into necklaces!" She held up the offering to the great demon lord and looked at him expectantly.

Sesshomaru twitched. He cared for Rin, but surely he didn't have to wear that in order to earn her affections, right? He patted her on the head and nodded, giving her confirmation of his approval. He then gave her a new kimono to wear.

Right away she dropped her flowers and focused on the pink outfit in front of her. "Oh! It's so pretty, Sesshomaru-sama! Rin loves it!" She exclaimed.

"Are you stealing her attention away from me that easily?" A voice boomed in the distance.

Both of them looked up to see Kagome approaching them.

"Miko." Sesshomaru stated. He wasn't calling out to her in any way. He was just stating it as a fact and acknowledging her presence. In any case, it was cold. The distance between him and her were well established.

"Kagome!" Rin jumped. She ran and hugged her tightly. "Look Kagome-chan! Isn't it pretty? Rin loves pink and flowers!"

Kagome giggled and hugged the girl back. "It's quite beautiful. Sesshomaru-sama sure does have good taste doesn't he?"

"yeah!" Rin cheered. "Sesshomaru! Sesshomaru! The Obon festival will be here soon! Join Rin! There will be lots of games and everyone in the village will play along! Shippo will be there too! Join Rin!"

She looked at his expectantly. Sesshomaru's lips thinned. He would rather chew his own sword than to waste his free time with humans. The look that Rin was giving him, though…..saying no would disappoint her. A new feeling rose to his chest. Guilt? He was getting soft.

"Now, now, Rin, the Obon festival will be here in a few days! There's plenty of time! You should go head back to the village now, Shippo is waiting for you." Kagome suggested.

Sudden relief dispelled within Sesshomaru's mind.

"Awwwwww," the young girl whined. "Okay…." She dejectedly started to walk back. "I'll ask you again next time, Sesshomaru-sama! Make sure you visit Rin again!"

Kagome giggled and waved Rin goodbye. She then noticed the ring of flowers that Rin made a while ago. Kagome picked them up and looked at Sesshomaru. As realization dawned, her eyes widened a bit. "Ahaha, you're a pretty nice guy, aren't you Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru stiffened. What a silly human.

"Wait! Aren't you going to take this along with you?" Kagome asked, holding up the flower necklace.

"This Sesshomaru would never wear something as profound as flowers on this one's neck. It is neither fitting nor proper." He started to turn away.

"That is a silly notion." He scoffed. "What would this Sesshomaru need with that?"

Kagome just smiled. "This was an act of love."

He froze. He still didn't look at her, instead, he kept his eyes towards the road, where he was about to leave. Somehow, her words stunned him. Love. It was a silly notion indeed. But he found himself wanting to take the flowers. Rin made it for him. She stopped in the middle of the day and created him a gift out of her own sheer will. Someone out there cared. For some reason, it felt nice.

He grimaced and looked sideways, still not facing Kagome.

"Love is redundant." Sesshomaru says.

He then heard Kagome's soft giggling. "Says the guy who brings a kimono to a little human girl every once in a while."

He glared. How dare she make such assumptions about him. She knew nothing. Before he could say anything to reprimand her, she spoke again.

"Well, in any case Sesshomaru, here." Kagome walked up to him and handed him the bundle of flowers, expecting him to take it. "Rin and I would be very honored if you would accept this."

He stared at her for a minute, and then brought his hand up to the flowers, only to slap it out of her hands. "This one tires of your maudlin games. Be gone."

She looked down, and even a little shocked. "I see." She whispered. "We'll continue making more until there are flowers beautiful enough for you to accept." And with that, Kagome walked off.

She smiled at him. A warm smile.

Sesshomaru was genuinely shocked. After all the cruel attempts to hurt her and his indifferent remarks, she smiled at him. It was a smile full of kindness and compassion. His emotionless façade held its ground, but the slight surprise flickered in his eyes. This emotion….it was not…displeasing.

Sesshomaru stood there until Kagome was completely out of sight. He didn't know why he did it, but he stood there. Mixed with disgust and a sort of fascination, he looked over at her womanly curves as she left.

Then, when she was out of sight, he looked down towards the flowers that he so rudely rejected. He could smell her scent on it. The strong aroma clung onto the flowers but he could tell that it was fading fast. The potent mixture of jasmine and apples haunted him. He found himself not displeased with that woman's smell. Well, for a human, it was tolerable. The thought of picking up the flowers even came to his head, but very briefly.

He shook his head.

It was Rin. She was making him much too sentimental.

Sesshomaru walked away, but he was unable to shake off their meeting. His emotionless mask stayed in place. Meaningless. That's what the meeting was.

He walked away, but somehow, the warm smile that she gave him was with him for the rest of the day.

Meaningless.

Xxx

A/N and with that ends my first chapter to my first very long story. Hope you guys liked it. Read and review please. I just want to get better at writing.


	2. More of You

And their love progresses! Sorry it took so long, I'm very tired all the time and I'm busy with water polo practice and my other classes. I think I wrote this one pretty well. I tried to keep Sesshomaru in character, though it is tough. I wanted to make his feelings more clear through explanations, and not actions. He is, after all, a man of few words. But don't worry, things will look brighter eventually.

Read and Review!

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More of You

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The next time he came to visit, it was much longer. A few days has passed yet Sesshomaru found himself drawn to the small village. A small part of him desired to go there. It was mostly to see Rin. No other reason. Why would there be? Yet, an even smaller part said something different. It was just curiosity, that's all.

His youki cloud dissolved at his feet, leaving behind only the great lord. He looked above to see Rin chasing Shippo around and Kagome atop of the tree.

Their eyes clashed. Kagome smiled and waved her hands to say "hello". He looked away, feigning disinterest. Sesshomaru's feet made their way towards Rin. Immediately, the young girl stopped and looked up at him.

"Sesshomaru!" She piped. "You came to visit Rin again!"

Without thinking, she embraced him. He merely nodded and looked down at her, acknowledging her presence. Shippo stayed behind her, frightened of Sesshomaru.

He turned to the small girl and sniffed. "You are sick." Sesshomaru stated.

"Huh?" Rin jolted up. "Well, Rin has been a little bit more tired than usual…."

"You should not be outside. It is cold." He commanded his voice baritone. When did it come to this? He was easily submitted to a human girl. It was disgusting to him. As a master of control, he always thought he was in charge. But this weakness….how it irked him so.

Rin grimaced. "The Obon festival will be here in a few days….Rin doesn't want to skip it….."

"Don't worry," A tender voice rang out. It was Kagome. She sat at the base of the tree, smiling at Rin. "I'll take care of you. You'll be right as rain in no time, Rin."

"Hn." Sesshomaru breathed. "Proper care is necessary for children. Humans are so weak."

She giggled. It sounded charming, like bells ringing.

"I can do it!" Kagome chirped. "I can't shoot an arrow well, and I can't cook, but if it's one thing I know, its medicine. Trust me."

"I do not trust humans."

"Hypocrite."

As the two adults talked, the two small kids became immersed in their play. Rin started to chase Shippo around again. They ran in circles and laughed, ignorant of the conversation occurring.

"Do not test me." He replied smoothly.

"Well, it's just that Rin adores you so much and you seem to adore her. I'm pretty sure you trust her." She grinned.

"Your notions are maudlin. This Sesshomaru adores no one. It is simply a responsibility." He deflected.

"Oh, like a parent?" Kagome asked.

He stayed silent. His lips thinned. Disgust mixed with warmth bubbled up in his chest. A parent? To a human? It was ludicrous. Yet his actions towards her are unexplainable. Rin brought to life emotions that were dormant inside of him. He was unable to explain, yet all he knows that it is enjoyable. His thoughts were disrupted by Kagome.

"I see." She smiled. "Don't worry. Rin knows."

He turned away. Foolish human.

"Oh, yeah!" She piped up. "I forgot! I found the perfect flower for you! It was near a waterfall around here. I'll show you when I get the time. It was so pretty that I didn't want to pick it up and ruin it."

"Why waste your time with such a ridiculous action?" He asked. "This Sesshomaru has no need for such unusable item. A flower will not kill enemies, nor will it empower me. Your empty sentiments have no meaning towards this one."

She thought for a minute, staring into the sky a little. After a long pause, she spoke.

"It's nice." She said. "Getting a gift because someone likes you is a good feeling."

"This Sesshomaru has no need for you to 'like' this one." He replied with a flicker of disgust.

"Alright, then." She said. "How about this? I'll 'like' you anyways, and if it really annoys you, I'll stop."

He continued to stare at the woman in front of him. She baffled him to no ends. Yet, it wasn't bad. It was strangely familiar, yet horrifyingly different. It reminded him of the way Rin had treated him, but the emotion that was elicited was different. This foreign emotion repulsed him. It was towards a human no less.

"Insolent." He stated.

All she did was give one look at him and turned away. "You know, Sesshomaru? I don't think you're as bad as everyone says you are. So I won't treat you like how they do." She stared at the kids playing. There was evidence right in front of her. Rin changed him. To her, she wasn't a monster. Sesshomaru was a precious guardian.

Sesshomaru fell under silent shock, but hid it under his mask. It was…..strange, to say the least. She did not run, nor was she afraid. In fact, she embraced him. She was not a child, nor was she blind or ignorant in any way.

"You are odd." He stated. Was he uncomfortable? No. It was something else he couldn't quite place. He had only been accepted by one human and that was Rin. Humans had always been garbage to him, and their opinion, even less, yet for some unknown reason, when Kagome said what she said, something tugged at him.

"Well, maybe it's not such a bad thing." She gave one of her golden smiles again.

Before he could even put chains on his thoughts, it exploded in his mind. That smile. It suits her. He grimaced again. Disgusting.

She tucked her hair behind her head and flipped it over to the other side.

The wind carried her scent towards Sesshomaru. Apples and Sakura blossoms again. He quickly started to walk away, repulsed by her scent. No. He was not repulsed by it. It was something more frightening. He was accustomed to it and was starting to enjoy it, as if it were a luxury. That was unacceptable. His emotions repulsed him.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin shouted in the distance. "You will come to the Obon festival right?"

Again, his frowned.

"This Sesshomaru is preoccupied." He stated.

"It's in 3 days." Kagome chipped in. "Please come."

"I will not go to a human festival, especially one with that half breed." He bit out, with venom laced on 'half breed'.

"Inuyasha went to a nearby village to help out with some demon problem that everyone is complaining about. He might not be here."

He looked back at her, which he regrets now. Her eyes glimmered. At the mention of Inuyasha's name, she came alive, bursting with passion. A naive and young passion. A tinge of hatred peaked mixed in with another emotion. He didn't like it.

With that thought, he dismissed the human and left.

Their meeting haunted him for another day.

He never showed up for that Obon festival. Kagome looked for him, though, half expecting Sesshomaru to be there.

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AN

Tired. Hope you enjoyed, read and review.


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